Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9309020234
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Secret Service agents were close-mouthed about security arrangements for Guyanese President Cheddi Jagan's visit to Virginia Tech on Wednesday afternoon.
University officials confirmed that more than a dozen agents were on hand to make sure the president's stay was a safe one.
Jagan - who along with other Caribbean leaders met with President Clinton this week - came here looking for help. In a news conference following an hour-long meeting with Tech officials, Jagan said Guyana needs technical and professional assistance, as well as some fresh ideas to end its economic blight.
Guyana is one of the poorest Caribbean nations.
"We want to make Guyana into a model Third World country, and we hope to get as much assistance from you as possible, in every way," said the recently elected president, who was educated in America as a dentist.
Jagan said his country could use help with agriculture - crop yields are poor in Guyana - and with general ideas for development.
He called for Tech faculty to visit Guyana and even work there for a time, and invited Tech students to visit for a summer or semester and work in Guyana's schools.
The president was brought to Tech under the auspices of the university's outreach and international programs.
Although no specific plans were announced, Tech should be able to provide at least some professional assistance to Guyana, said Patrick Liverpool, the university's vice provost for outreach and international affairs. Liverpool was born in Guyana.
Tech provides assistance to several countries around the world, Liverpool said.
Jagan also expressed reservations about the pending North American Free Trade Agreement, saying he supports the concept of economic cooperation in the Americas but believes tiny countries such as Guyana could be "smothered" or forgotten.
"The Caribbean is facing difficult times ahead. . . . Special provisions have to be given" to Caribbean countries in the agreement, Jagan said. "Otherwise, instead of growing food, we will grow marijuana. We will send refugees to you. I think the problem needs to be looked at by the administration here."
Jagan flew to Tech on a university airplane and was met by Secret Service agents driving dark sedans, as well as by campus and state police.
He was whisked off to Tech's Center for Continuing Education, where agents stood guard in the hallways, communication cords dangling from their ears.
It was the Secret Service's first known trip to Blacksburg since then-vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen visited in 1988, Tech officials said.
It was also the first time in memory that any head of state - including the United States - has visited the Tech campus. "We think this is our first," Tech spokesman Dave Nutter said.
Jagan, a longtime Marxist, was elected a year ago at the age of 74. He unseated Desmond Hoyte in an election that sparked rioting and clashes between Jagan's Indian backers and Hoyte's black supporters. Police gunfire left two people dead.
Secret Service Special Agent Ron Shell said a risk assessment is done whenever a head of state visits to determine how much protection is necessary.
Asked if the violence surrounding Jagan's election had contributed to the amount of protection he received here, Shell said, "All those factors were considered."
Shell would not discuss specific security arrangements.
Guyana, best known to most Americans as the site of a mass suicide and massacre in Jonestown in 1978, is a country of fewer than 1 million people. Bordered by Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil, it is about the size of Idaho. Its chief products are bauxite, sugar and rice.
Jagan said most of the people of Guyana live on the coastline. The inland remains pristine rain forest.
Jagan himself is the son of plantation workers. He has a long history of involvement in Marxist causes and once was imprisoned for six months for violating an order not to leave Guyana's capital city.
His many publications include "The West on Trial: The Fight for Guyana's Freedom," "Caribbean Revolution," "Bitter Sugar" and "The Role of the CIA in Guyana and its Activities Throughout the World."
Jagan was scheduled to spend the night in Blacksburg and return to Washington, D.C., this morning.
by CNB